


Someone's a Quick Study

by DualWieldingCousland (DualWieldingMama)



Series: The Other Regan [19]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-12
Packaged: 2018-04-04 00:50:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4120432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DualWieldingMama/pseuds/DualWieldingCousland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What better way to celebrate a trio of dragon slayings than to teach someone how to ice skate?  Cullen is rather suspicious of this way to pass the time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Someone's a Quick Study

It was past midday when Cullen rode into the Sarhnia campsite clutching the last report he’d received. The report had been vague, stating only that there would be a lengthy delay in returning to Skyhold – something to do with dragons … and injuries. It had neglected to mention who was injured, or how severely, and all his mind could conjure was her, lying on a bedroll, battered and broken, barely breathing. In his mind, nothing else would explain the need for a delay, lengthy or otherwise.

“Commander Cullen, I … um, we … didn’t expect to see you here, ser.” The requisitions officer stationed in the camp approached, reaching out for Angel’s reins. She stood at attention as he dismounted, resisting the urge to actually ask what he was doing all the way out here. He very seldom ventured outside of Skyhold unless directly requested by the Inquisitor, and as far as she knew, no request had been made. Not that the Inquisitor would mind, but still … it was strange. She passed off the horse’s reins to a nearby runner.

“Where is she?” he practically barked before remembering his manners. He highly doubted this woman was the one who had penned the tragically uninformative report. Cullen took a breath and brought a hand to his forehead, practically covering his eyes. “Apologies, Meri. The trip was … more tiring than expected. Do you know where I can find the Inquisitor? The last report we received said there were … injuries.”

“Aye,” Meri replied, still looking a bit confused. Surely he didn’t ride all the way out here to look over some injured villagers. “The healer’s tents are this way, ser.” She motioned for him to follow as she wove through the crumbled buildings. “Mostly it’s been villagers that were taken by the red templars; we think they’re free of any lyrium, but we’re keeping a close eye on them.” She pointed to a tent set a bit off to one side; a pair of guards stood at the opening, glancing in every few minutes. “The rest are here. One of the other camps had dragon attacks to contend with, and they moved their wounded here until the Inquisitor could deal with the beasts.”

“Beasts,” Cullen repeated as he stopped in his tracks. “As in … more than one?” It was bad enough she’d faced off against single dragons here and there; he still remembered how battered she’d been after the first one she’d faced. Even with the camp healers tending to her almost immediately, she’d come back to Skyhold with a broken arm and several bruises and cuts. And now she was having to deal with multiple dragons? Bull was probably in heaven.

“Yes, Commander; three dragons, all across the bridge.” She pointed in the vague direction of Judacaiel’s Crossing. “I believe there is one left; the Inquisitor wanted to rest and restock her supplies before dealing with her. Her party rode out this morning, before sunrise. I believe she planned to take a late breakfast at the camp near the bridge, then go after the final dragon.”

“Why would she ride all the way out here to restock and rest if there is a camp closer to the … the dragons?” He frowned, not happy about the turn of events at all. Yes, she wasn’t the one injured, yet, so far as he knew. But she was off facing a blasted dragon … a third dragon in less than as many days, if he was understanding correctly. There was no telling what kind of injuries she could sustain. There was no telling how long she would be gone.

“We can’t keep mounts here, ser,” Meri replied, “not with the length of time we’ve been here. We have a few druffalo for the heavy moving, but nothing we could ride. They’d freeze or starve, despite our best efforts. Your mount’s being kept where the Inquisitor’s mounts get sheltered … but even then, we’ve got to keep fires burning near the pen.” She shrugged, leading him back to the main camp. “She would use her mounts to bring the dragon-wounded here every evening.” 

“I … can see why there would be some delay in returning, then,” Cullen finally managed. His mind was flipping through thoughts, worries a mile a minute, but he did his best to at least appear calm. “Though, I do not quite see how that would result in at least a week’s delay, as this report indicates.” He handed the now completely crumpled parchment over and fought to keep from pacing worriedly. 

“I believe the Inquisitor wished to aid the village as well,” the officer answered after reading over the document. “I … cannot be certain, ser, but I think I overheard some of the men saying that she … the Inquisitor, I mean … and the others … wanted to help build some shelters, since the only building in the village that still has a roof is the mayor’s.” She pointed toward the sole structure still standing. It wasn’t nearly large enough for the town’s entire population to crowd into at night. “Nothing fancy, of course, Commander; none of us are that skilled with stone and wood. But a few sets of four walls and a roof couldn’t go amiss.”

Of course she would want to help with that, too. Not that it was a bad thing, but … couldn’t the report have included that? Or maybe asked for assistance? “I see,” was all he said, looking around. “You said she rode out this morning, correct?” When the officer nodded, he pursed his lips, fighting back a worried growl before going on. “Best guess, based on the other two dragons … when do you expect -.”

His question was cut off by a loud screech echoing throughout the area. Even this far away, he knew it had to be that final dragon. But had that been a death scream or one of victory? Was Regan alright? Was the rest of their group alright? He wanted to run, find his way to her, make sure she was still in one piece. But, he didn’t know his way around the Emprise … and if he got lost, he’d be no help to anyone.

“Good sign,” Meri grinned, clasping a passing soldier’s hand as they passed. “Depending on the size of it, she should be back before dark.” When Cullen questioned her further, she just shrugged. “Other two made similar sounds when they died. A few troops always accompany her; they’ll clean the carcass, prepare all the usable bits for transport. When she reaches Judacael’s camp, she’ll send a wagon to collect everyone and everything. She’ll make her way here with any wounded.” 

“Sounds almost … routine,” Cullen muttered, again hating the fact that he could never seem to be where she would be most at risk. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could do but wait for her to return. If the officer was certain she would be returning to this camp before nightfall, he would wait here. But he needed something to take his mind off of the wait, the worry. “What can I do to help?” he finally asked, deciding busy hands were better than nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you sure about this?” Cullen asked as he watched her tie thin blades of metal first to his boots, then to hers. He hated the fact that he could hear the nerves in his voice. How could standing on a pair of such things be safe, let alone fun? They had spent the past week building shelters for the townspeople and this was apparently the way the Inquisitor wanted to celebrate.

“I’m sure, Cullen.” Regan grinned as she pushed herself up, using his legs for support. “It’s easy, once you get used to it.” To demonstrate, she pushed off, gliding in a smooth circle, coming to a stop in front of him again. She held out a hand, waiting, watching him with an encouraging smile.

Cautiously, he took her hand and pulled himself into a standing position; a wobbly standing position, but he was standing. He didn’t understand how she could stay standing on those things, with him pulling on her hand. “What in the Maker’s name are these?” Surely they were some strange form of torture device.

“Ice skates.” She gently slid backwards, pulling him along. Regan had taken him to the far side of the lake for the lesson on purpose; she wanted as few people watching as possible. She didn’t think he’d have a problem picking up the techniques, but she didn’t want him feeling embarrassed by several eyes on him, especially since she had already taught a few of them. “They are all the rage in Kaiten in the winter. I taught my sister’s eldest how to do this the last time I visited.”

He felt himself wobble, gripping her hands tighter than he intended. He hated not feeling comfortable … not being skilled at something physical. Never mind that they didn’t have these … skate things … at Kinloch Hold or Kirkwall. He was the commander of the Inquisition’s military – a decent warrior and fairly light on his feet. He should be good at this, right?

“Just relax.” Her voice was soft, soothing as she led him further from the snowbanks. “I’d say ‘don’t think about it’, but that never really works for me; I just end up thinking about it more.” She released his hands and let him just … stand there for a moment, watching as he teetered, but did not fall. “Good. You’re doing really good so far. Sera and Dorian hit the ground almost immediately after I let go.” She glanced over her shoulder as if looking for someone, turned back, moved closer and whispered, “Don’t tell them I said that.”

He shivered slightly, teetering a little more as her breath tickled his ear. He bit back a faint groan and nodded. “Your secret is safe with me,” he promised. He felt a little better, knowing others had had more difficulty. But how could she be so graceful on them? It wasn’t that she wasn’t skilled or graceful on the battlefield, but he’d seen her trip over absolutely nothing while just walking before … frequently. But on these … ice skates … she moved like a dream. 

“Don’t try to walk to move,” she instructed. “Just kind of … give yourself a little push. The skates will do the rest.” She did her best to show him how to get started, moving slower than normal to push off. After going a few feet, she spun to watch him.

Cullen frowned, pursed his lips as he tried to mimic her movements. Getting started was awkward, but he managed without falling over. Keeping in mind how she’d moved, he followed her path, always just a bit too far behind to actually reach her. He saw her smile, look impressed, and felt his heart swell … skip a beat. Andraste preserve him, he wanted to impress her on these stupid things.

She grinned; he was doing so well already. But she wasn’t really surprised. She led him back toward the snowbanks, purposely staying just out of his reach. She knew the next part of the lesson would be likely to need the soft cushion of snow – stopping. She slid to a halt and braced herself, ready to catch him when he reached her. Thankfully, he wasn’t moving at a terribly fast pace and slid gently into her arms. A quick brush of lips against his was his reward before she got ready to explain how to actually stop.

He frowned when she pulled away after only the briefest of kisses. It was a nice reward for such a small thing, but still … those lips just looked like they ached to be kissed … a lot. “So what’s next?” he asked, sounding more confident than he felt.

“Well, unless you plan on skating forever once you start, you’ll need to know how to stop, eventually.”

He was about to respond when he saw a large, horned mass racing toward them. Without thinking, he reached out, grabbed her … yanked her out of the path of a speeding Iron Bull. Of course, he didn’t just pull her out of the way; he pulled her against him, and the force of impact threw his balance off enough that they both ended up in the snow. “You taught Bull how to do this?” he groaned, letting his head fall back into the snow. The only good thing about this whole incident so far was that neither of them were in armor for once, and she was currently straddling his hips, held against his chest.

“After we killed the first dragon,” she confirmed before biting her lip; she could feel her cheeks grow warm and she was sure she was turning pink. She hadn’t expected to be pulled to the ground in such … fashion – not that she was complaining. Regan squirmed a little, trying to push herself up so he could get out of the snow. “And I’m pretty sure I told him not to act like he was going to barrel into people,” she shouted over her shoulder.  
“Sorry boss; couldn’t resist!”

“Of course he couldn’t,” Cullen muttered. He was torn between wanting to keep her pressed against him and getting out of the snow. The cold seeping through his clothes was enough to help him decide and he reluctantly watched her stand before climbing up himself. “That was ….” He cleared his throat, rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly embarrassed. Why had he been about to tell her how much he’d enjoyed seeing her … feeling her on top of him like that? “Try again?”

“You bet.” She tried to act nonchalant, like she wasn’t embarrassed by what had just happened. It wasn’t that she didn’t like it … it was more than she did. Regan turned, glared menacingly over her shoulder at the Qunari. Well, it would have been menacing had Bull not been a foot taller than her. “We’ll have to come up with a way to get back at him,” she muttered before leading him back to the ice. “You can do this Cullen. I have faith in you.”

Why those few words meant so much to him, he couldn’t explain. He nodded slowly, clinging to her arms only briefly to steady himself. “I … thank you, Regan,” he murmured before letting go. “So … how do I stop once I get going?” Might as well get back on track right away. He paid close attention to how she moved, how her feet turned and how she shifted her body to maintain her balance before trying it himself. His first attempt ended face down in the snow.

She couldn’t help it, seeing him face-plant into the snow brought forth a torrent of giggles. She made her way over, offered a hand once he rolled over. She didn’t even try not to stare at the faint curls starting to show under the clinging layer of snow, at those tawny eyes beneath long lashes dusted with snow. Maker, she could gaze into those eyes forever and not mind a bit.

He wanted to be upset, wanted to be annoyed that he hadn’t immediately mastered the fine art of stopping. He wanted to, but couldn’t. Not with her standing there, smiling down at him. He didn’t even care that she laughed at his fall. He was sure he’d looked quite silly. But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to retaliate … not punish her, exactly, but …. He reached out, took her hand and … pulled her back down against him. He couldn’t help but think that this was just about perfect, even with the snow.

Regan yelped softly as she was pulled forward. She tried to brace herself, soften the landing so she didn’t hurt herself … or him. But it seemed like she worried for nothing - Cullen did his best to catch her, cuddle her to him. She felt his lips brush against her skin and squirmed, biting back a soft moan. Did he know what he did to her … how he made her feel? How much he made her want?

Curse this cold snow. He wanted to be able to just hold her, kiss her … without cold and wet seeping into his clothes. With a disgruntled sigh, he let her go, again and pushed himself up to try yet again. This time, he politely refused her aid and made it to the ice on his own. There was a bit of a wobble, but he made it. The push-off was unsteady, but he soon got into a smooth rhythm. And then came the stop. It wasn’t … perfect; wasn’t remotely steady, even. But he stayed upright and was rewarded with another soft kiss.

After a few more cautious passes across the ice, she pulled alongside and reached for his hand. She adjusted her speed and wrapped her fingers around his, enjoying the surprised smile that crossed his face as they moved across the ice. She bit her lip, flushed as she saw his eyes travel over her, his tongue flicking out slightly. She didn’t expect it when he spun her, pulled her against his chest while still sliding across the ice. “Someone’s a fast study,” she whispered, breaking the silence. She was impressed with how quickly he’d adapted; even Bull had taken longer to grow comfortable. 

“I have a wonderful teacher,” he purred, relishing the trust she was showing, letting him direct their movements. “Plus, the rewards for succeeding have been … nice.” He felt his cheeks grow warm as he lost himself in her eyes. Why did he constantly lose his calm, controlled demeanor around her? They’d gotten past his concern about being little more than a commoner, hadn’t they? He’d accepted the fact that despite the fact that the commander of the Inquisition’s forces shouldn’t have feelings for the Inquisitor, he did; and she had feelings for him. Maker, it was like he was a young man again. “Did your other students get the same rewards?”

She smirked, shook her head. “They got cookies.” She shrugged slightly, giggling at the shocked expression on his face. “Well, Bull and Sera did. Dorian got a promise of wine when we get back to Skyhold.” She snuggled against him, shifting just enough so the pair came to a slow stop. Regan leaned in, ghosted her lips against his once, twice, three times before pulling back. “There’s only one student that I think deserves … this kind of reward.”

“Good,” he purred, running a hand along her spine, gripping her rear to pull her close. He was glad she guided them to a stop, and more-so that they were hidden by the large island in the middle of the frozen lake. He lifted her chin, brushed his lips across hers before moving to nibble at her ear. “I think the teacher might deserve such a reward as well.” He felt her shiver, grip at his shoulders, and brought his lips back to hers, relishing the way she just … wrapped around him. Andraste preserve him, he wanted to stay this way forever … stay with her forever. Why couldn’t he just tell her?

**Author's Note:**

> (Honestly not sure if I like this. It will probably be rewritten at some point, since there are bits I like)


End file.
